Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Jul 9, 2013

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:

Ohio

Foundation being laid for Utica Shale play
New Philadelphia Times-Reporter
Development of the Utica Shale play has kept Harrison County a hub of activity in recent weeks with completion of MarkWest’s cryogenic plant in Cadiz and construction of a road to link the M3 Midstream natural gas processing plant in Scio with state Route 151. MarkWest’s cryogenic plant, which has a processing capacity of 125 million cubic feet per day, went into operation during the last two weeks of May, said Kevin Hawkins, manager of investor relations for the company.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame
Energy in Depth
Recently, at the Mahoning Valley Scrappers ballpark in Niles, the Energy in Depth team joined over 2,500 game attendees and 100 invited guests from the area to celebrate our nation’s birthday and talk shale. In addition to family July 4th activities, members of Local 396, Local 935, The Youngstown – Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce and our friends from Energy Citizens all came out to the ballpark to watch the fireworks and engage in conversation about how the valley is making a comeback, thanks in large part to shale exploration and development.

Pennsylvania

Pipe Dreams of Natural Gas in Rural Pa. Becoming Reality
Energy in Depth
There is a lot to celebrate in Montrose, Pa., when we talk about natural gas development. Not only has the Montrose area been a leader in reaping the benefits of responsible production, but residents and businesses are also now taking steps to use the gas they are getting out of their properties. Many people in the Montrose area want natural gas in their homes and businesses, and Leatherstocking is going to make this possible. Leatherstocking – a New York natural gas distribution company which recently obtained public utility status in Pennsylvania – has officially held their groundbreaking ceremony, and pipelines will be coming to the area!

Pittsburgh gas project could benefit cargo
Air Cargo World
Sometime in late 2014, if all goes according to plan, Consol Energy will begin shale gas drilling on 9,000 acres owned by Pittsburgh International Airport. The deal figures to be lucrative for the airport over the 20-year lease and could eventually offer benefits to air cargo in the region.

Gasland 2 And The Dimock Water Line: The Real Story
John Hanger’s Facts of The Day
Airing last night on HBO, Gasland 2 focuses considerably on pollution of 18 water wells in Dimock, Pennsylvania by methane and the proposed extension of a water line to the families whose water was contaminated by Cabot Oil and Gas. Josh Fox and I agree that mistakes caused in gas drilling by Cabot caused methane to pollute the water wells of 18 families, but unfortunately you won’t see the real story of the proposed water line to serve those 18 families in Gasland 2. Here is what really happened in the fight with Cabot to clean up the groundwater and to build a proposed water line from Montrose to Dimock.

National

From Flaming Faucet to Flaming Hose: The Continuing Fraud of Gasland
Energy in Depth
When Josh Fox released his movie “Gasland” in 2010, he made it clear from the very beginning that the iconic scene would be the “flaming faucet” from Weld County, Colorado. And why not? It coupled fears of water contamination with vivid imagery – which was exactly what Fox wanted to do with the film. The problem, though, is that two years before the release of Gasland, Colorado regulators had investigated that exact case, and determined hydraulic fracturing and oil and gas development had nothing to do with it. “There are no indications of oil & gas related impacts to water well,” according to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission report.

Smaller companies at vanguard of US shale oil revolution
Financial Times
The US shale revolution has not been led by Chevron or other large international oil companies such as ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell, but by smaller North American independents, from the midsized companies valued in the tens of billions of dollars down to tiny start-ups.

Our Fracking Future: HBO’s ‘Gasland 2’ and other anti-fracking efforts are fizzling
National Review Online
The pro-fracking conspiracy in the United States is so vast that it evidently encompasses the Environmental Protection Agency, famously a tool of the oil and gas industry. The EPA just dropped its study of fracking allegedly contaminating the water in Pavillion, Wyo. The enviro left had rejoiced at the news a few years ago that the EPA had for the first time implicated fracking as a threat to groundwater. Now, amid criticisms of its methodology, the EPA has backed down and won’t issue a final report. It is handing the matter off to the state of Wyoming, which has been dubious of the EPA’s claims.

Is This Shale Gas Giant Getting Better?
The Motley Fool
The quest for oil and gas in the U.S.has resulted in numerous discoveries over the last two years. Leading the oil exploration exercise is Chesapeake Energy, beating industry giants such as ExxonMobil and Chevron. Chesapeake Energy has been able to discover more shale gas deposits in the U.S. over the last two years than any of its rivals. However, this massive effort did not come cheap. The company, then under the leadership of CEO Aubrey McClendon, burned too much cash leaving its balance sheet in tatters.

The Keystone XL pipeline is irrelevant (to climate change)
Christian Science Monitor
The Keystone XL pipeline will make no measurable contribution one way or another to global climate change, Rapier writes. The arguments against it convey a false impression of the most important drivers of global carbon emissions.